The 20 Hottest Cities for Tech Jobs Now

Job search site ZipRecruiter recently analyzed its database of more than 8 million active jobs, and ranked the 20 fastest-growing tech markets based on year-over-year data. Job growth for engineering, software, and IT roles may be losing steam in the Bay Area, but smaller cities are picking up the slack, the company says,

Huntsville, Ala. topped the list, with over 300% tech job growth from 2016 to 2017. Thousand Oaks, Calif. (200%) came in second, followed by Phoenix, Ariz. (188%).

“The tech industry is no longer bound to the coast,” says ZipRecruiter’s Chief Economic Adviser, Cathy Barrera. “As a result, we’re seeing the tech industry expand out of the major metropolis areas, and into smaller regional cities that have since flown largely under the radar.”

Many of the cities on ZipRecruiter’s list are in the Midwest — Kansas City, Kan., Cincinnati, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind. are three standouts. The South also had a strong showing, with Nashville, Tenn. and three cities in Florida (Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa) all making the cut.

Barrera credits government policies, like tax breaks that attract entrepreneurs and business startups for much of this growth. But the main impetus, she says, is the skyrocketing cost of living in coastal tech hubs like San Francisco and New York.

The median home price of a home in Huntsville hovers around $150,000, according to the report — a fraction of the $1.5 million it costs to buy a home in the Bay Area.

“Big cities can only grow so much — and at a certain point, the skyrocketing living costs make it nearly impossible to find a job with a salary you can live off,” Barrera says.

Here’s the full list, complete with average salary (as per PayScale), rent, and home costs:

1. Huntsville, AL

Top tech jobs:

Software Engineer

Systems Engineer

Systems Specialist

Help Desk Support

Information Technology Specialist

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 309%

Early Career Median Pay: $59,500

Mid Career Median Pay: $96,400

Median rent: $950

Median home price: $152,170

2. Thousand Oaks, CA

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Network Engineer

Project Manager Coordinator

Quality Assurance Specialist

Software Test Engineer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 200%

Early Career Median Pay: $59,500

Mid Career Median Pay: $105,000

Median rent: $3,200

Median home price: $673,000

3. Phoenix, AZ

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Software Engineer

Software Developer

Data Analyst

SQL Developer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 188%

Early Career Median Pay: $58,400

Mid Career Median Pay: $96,800

Median rent: $1,345

Median home price: $216,000

4. Albany, NY

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

SQL Developer

ERP Engineer

Software Developer

Software Tester

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 161%

Early Career Median Pay: $55,200

Mid Career Median Pay: $87,000

Median rent: $1,625

Median home price: $175,000

5. Kansas City, MO

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Network Engineer

Project Coordinator

Developer

Web Developer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 157%

Early Career Median Pay: $57,200

Mid Career Median Pay: $89,500

Median rent: $895

Median home price: $207,107

6. Orlando, FL

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Software Engineer

Project Engineer

Network Engineer

Developer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 149%

Early Career Median Pay: $52,800

Mid Career Median Pay: $87,400

Median rent: $1,500

Median home price: $210,000

7. Salt Lake City, UT

Top tech jobs:

Software Engineer

Project Manager

Developer

Project Engineer

Technical Support Engineer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 117%

Early Career Median Pay: $58,200

Mid Career Median Pay: $97,800

Median rent: $1,495

Median home price: $533,800

8. Nashville, TN

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Senior Net Developer

Network Administrator

Project Engineer

Desktop Support Technician

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 114%

Early Career Median Pay: $54,700

Mid Career Median Pay: $90,200

Median rent: $1,700

Median home price: $269,700

9. Jacksonville, FL

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

System Administrator

Systems Engineer

Desktop Support Technician

Implementation Consultant

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 111%

Early Career Median Pay: $52,000

Mid Career Median Pay: $89,200

Median rent: $1,200

Median home price: $170,000

10. Baltimore, MD

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Software Engineer

Network Engineer

System Administrator

Software Developer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 109%

Early Career Median Pay: $62,500

Mid Career Median Pay: $105,000

Median rent: $1,375

Median home price: $196,900

11. Cincinnati, OH

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Quality Engineer

Software Engineer

Lead Applications Developer

Scrum Master

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 96%

Early Career Median Pay: $55,500

Mid Career Median Pay: $90,400

Median rent: $1,095

Median home price: $137,50

12. Cleveland, OH

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Quality Engineer

Developer

Quality Technician

Software Engineer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 84.3%

Early Career Median Pay: $52,100

Mid Career Median Pay: $86,700

Median rent: $1,000

Median home price: $75,000

13. Indianapolis, IN

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Quality Technician

Quality Engineer

Data Analyst

Net Developer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 84.1%

Early Career Median Pay: $55,400

Mid Career Median Pay: $89,400

Median rent: $1,000

Median home price: $180,715

14. Columbus, OH

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Network Engineer

Quality Engineer

Application Developer

Java Developer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 83%

Early Career Median Pay: $56,600

Mid Career Median Pay: $93,400

Median rent: $1,045

Median home price: $139,60

15. Denver, CO

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Network Engineer

Developer

Software Engineer

Systems Administrator

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 81.4%

Early Career Median Pay: $62,300

Mid Career Median Pay: $103,000

Median rent: $2,100

Median home price: $372,500

16. Detroit, MI

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Software Engineer

Quality Engineer

Systems Engineer

Application Engineer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 81.1%

Early Career Median Pay: $59,600

Mid Career Median Pay: $94,400

Median rent: $750

Median home price: $57,000

17. Tampa, FL

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Systems Administrator

Project Coordinator

Data Analyst

Network Engineer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 80.9%

Early Career Median Pay: $52,700

Mid Career Median Pay: $90,600

Median rent: $1,495

Median home price: $202,750

18. Providence, RI

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Software Engineer

Senior Net Developer

Business Information Analyst

Quality Engineer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 79%

Early Career Median Pay: $55,400

Mid Career Median Pay: $90,500

Median rent: $1,800

Median home price: $194,250

19. Seattle, WA

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Software Engineer

Software Development Engineer

Developer

Technical Services

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 74.9%

Early Career Median Pay: $76,200

Mid Career Median Pay: $117,000

Median rent: $2,700

Median home price: $620,000

20. Chicago, IL

Top tech jobs:

Project Manager

Quality Engineer

Network Engineer

Devops Engineer

Software Engineer

Growth in tech jobs YoY: 74.1%

Early Career Median Pay: $62,200

Mid Career Median Pay: $102,000

Median rent: $1,750

Median home price: $270,000

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